In the course of producing hinge-lid packs of cigarettes, discrete bundles cigarettes of a predetermined number (usually 20) are wrapped in a piece of paper/aluminum laminate, which is referred to in the art as "foil". In some of the more preferred brands, the foil is embossed with a minute pattern of slightly raised pin-points, which renders a silk-like surface effect.
Typically, the embossed pattern is imposed upon the foil pieces by passing a continuous strip of foil material through a pair of steel rollers, one of which includes minute pins along the substantial entirety of its working surface. These pins intermesh with corresponding pin holes (recesses) on a steel backup roller. Examples of embossing rolls of that nature are shown in EPO 139 066 A1 and DT 23 56 243 A1.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,372 to Chambon, it has become the practice to first impart the background pattern and then attempt application of printed indicia as may be desired in a subsequent, separate operation.
Typically, and as exemplified in Chambon, the imprinting of printed indicia upon foil is performed by pressing the print indicia against a yielding background surface. In Chambon, raised print indicia on a first hard cylinder is pressed into a yielding lining of a second cylinder, and the step of embossing the background pattern is executed separately with an additional pair of rollers.